1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to providing home shopping motion picture video. More particularly, the present invention relates to providing personalized home shopping motion picture video to viewers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, on broadcast television, there are programs that advertise a product and provide viewers with the ability to make a purchase by ordering over the phone, the internet, or directly over the television set. A program that advertises a product and gives the viewer the ability to purchase the item is a home shopping program. Some examples of such programs are infomercials, advertisements, and broadcast shopping channels.
Infomercials are typically the same duration as a regular television program. An infomercial usually runs for about thirty minutes to an hour. An infomercial is essentially an extended commercial about a particular product. The seller of the product produces and airs the infomercial with the goal of informing the viewer about the product for sale, and persuading the viewer to purchase the product. Every so often, during the infomercial, a phone number or website will be displayed allowing the viewer an opportunity to make the purchase.
An advertisement is commonly a fifteen second to one minute segment that attempts to sell a particular product by discussing the product and finally providing a phone number or website where the product can be purchased.
Broadcast shopping channels are broadcast channels dedicated to selling products around the clock. These shopping channels are usually live and spend a few minutes on a particular product, before moving on to the next product. Broadcast shopping channels can essentially be defined as continuous, back to back, home shopping programs.
As noted in the above examples, home shopping programs come in many forms. Also note that all home shopping programs inform the viewer about a product and give the viewer the ability to purchase the product without leaving the home (if the viewer is watching the home shopping program at home).
There are several disadvantages in the way home shopping programs are distributed on television today.
A first disadvantage is that since advertisements and infomercials are not aired on broadcast television on a given channel around the clock, the viewer must either find these home shopping programs, or by chance come across these home shopping programs. If the viewer wants to shop using the television set at a particular time, it is very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to find these home shopping programs. This, of course, is not a problem with broadcast shopping channels since they are airing home shopping programs around the clock.
A second disadvantage that applies to all of today""s home shopping programs is the inefficient xe2x80x9cshotgunxe2x80x9d distribution of products and advertisements. A home shopping program for a particular product is aired on a broadcasting channel to everybody. This means that all viewers will see the same home shopping program whether or not they are interested in the product. For example, both a twenty year old male living in California and a sixty year old female living in Ohio will see the same home shopping program while watching shopping channel X.
A third disadvantage is that a viewer does not have the ability to shop for a particular type of product. For example, if a viewer is looking for baseball equipment to buy as a birthday gift for his friend, it will be nearly impossible for the viewer to find baseball home shopping programs.
A fourth disadvantage is that a viewer, while watching a broadcast shopping channel, cannot skip home shopping programs that do not interest the viewer. For example, if a viewer is watching broadcast shopping channel X, and a home shopping program selling jewelry is being shown, the viewer is unable to skip the home shopping program. The viewer must wait the appropriate amount of time before being shown the next home shopping program.
The subject invention is directed to a method and system that overcomes the above-described disadvantages.
The present invention provides a method and system for delivering home shopping programs to a viewer. The home shopping programs include, for example, infomercials, advertisements, and broadcast shopping channels.
A disclosed method includes the steps of receiving personalized data from the viewer, generating a home shopping program list that identifies a plurality of home shopping programs related to the personalized data, and transmitting the home shopping program list and a home shopping program identified in the program list to the viewer. The home shopping program can be viewed immediately upon its receipt.
The method may be carried out over a client/server network architecture, wherein the client is a general purpose computer or a television, the server is a general purpose computer, and the network is the Internet or an intranet.
Personalized data may include data descriptive of the viewer such as his/her gender, sports interests, and age. Personalized data may also include information descriptive of shopping occasions of interest to the viewer such as shopping for himself/herself, for a specific item, for a birthday gift, for a mother""s day gift, for a wedding gift, for an anniversary gift, and shopping for a baby shower gift.
Another disclosed method includes the step of providing a client in communication with a server over a data network, transmitting personalized data over the client to the server, receiving a home shopping program list that identifies a plurality of home shopping programs related to the personalized data, and displaying a home shopping program, the program listed on the home shopping program list, on a display means of the client.
The viewer may select a home shopping program from the home shopping program list and display the selected home shopping program for viewing on the display means. In addition, the viewer may transmit to the server an order to purchase a product or service offered in a home shopping program. Further, the viewer may modify a home shopping program list by selecting a function for inserting a new home shopping program into, removing a home shopping program from, or moving a home shopping program within the home shopping program list. Thereafter, the viewer may transmit the modified home shopping program list to the server for storage.
A disclosed system includes a memory for storing personalized data, home shopping program lists, and home shopping programs, and a processor in communication with the memory. The processor is operative to receive personalized data from the viewer, generate a home shopping program list that identifies a plurality of home shopping programs related to the personalized data, and transmit a home shopping program identified in the home shopping program list to the viewer.
These and other embodiments of the present invention are disclosed in greater detail herein below.